BALTIMORE — The Orioles bolstered their bullpen at the trade deadline with the acquisition of relief pitcher Andrew Miller from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for pitching prospect Eduardo Rodriguez.

The trade appears to have improved Baltimore’s chances of winning the American League East, but a look ahead to October and the blockbuster deals pulled off by the Oakland Athletics and the Detroit Tigers created a more sobering tone as the deadline passed on Thursday afternoon. Make no mistake, the Orioles are better with the acquisition of one of the best lefty relievers in baseball, but Oakland landing Boston ace Jon Lester and Detroit securing 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner David Price certainly hurt Baltimore’s chances of winning the pennant should they advance to the postseason.

The Orioles may have improved, but the Athletic and Tigers took colossal leaps in their quest to advance to the World Series. But it’s a reality in which manager Buck Showalter and his club can’t dwell with only a 2 1/2 game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays entering Thursday’s series finale against the Los Angeles Angels.

“I’m not sure we had the wherewithal to land a top starter,” said executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette, who indicated teams kept bringing up 23-year-old Kevin Gausman in trade talks. “We have some other really attractive players, but some of them are helping our current club, right?

“You just have to weigh what you can do to strengthen your ball club, and I thought adding Miller really strengthens our club, particularly when we have a lead. And it allows some of those other relievers to come into the game and pitch earlier. It shortens up the game a little bit when you have relievers who can get out both righties and lefties. This kid has been dominant against both.”

Right or wrong, the Orioles remained steadfast in not dealing any of their top young pitchers with Gausman currently in the major league rotation and 21-year-old Dylan Bundy working his way back from last year’s Tommy John surgery. The recent elbow injury to 2013 first-round pick Hunter Harvey certainly didn’t make the Orioles any more eager to deal one of their few top pieces.

And there’s no telling how absurd the asking price might have still been to try to acquire Lester or Price from an AL East rival — even if the Orioles were willing to deal one of their young pitchers.

Miller posted a 2.34 ERA in 50 appearances spanning 42 1/3 innings for the Red Sox this season. He has held right-handed bats to a .180 average and lefties to a .150 clip. The 29-year-old is averaging 14.7 strikeouts per nine innings pitched, which is also significant considering the Orioles rank 14th in the American League in strikeouts this season.

It remains to be seen who will be sent out to make room for Miller in the current bullpen as right-hander Brad Brach and left-hander T.J. McFarland would be the logical possibilities since they both have minor-league options.

“He’s just another good piece,” said Showalter, who added that Miller is expected to be in uniform and available to pitch in Friday’s series opener against the Seattle Mariners. “He goes with some other good pieces down there. He gives us more depth down there [to] keep passing the load around. I think he’s a little more than just a left-handed arm. You look at left-handed relievers, the ideal ones are the guys that you’ve got left-right-left and you can leave them in there for the [right-handed hitter].”

Miller is set to become a free agent at the end of the season, making the price of giving up Rodriguez a costly one as the Venezuelan lefty was viewed as the organization’s fourth-best pitching prospect entering the 2014 season. Slowed by a knee injury earlier this season, the 21-year-old Rodriguez was 3-7 with a 4.79 ERA in 16 starts for Double-A Bowie this season.

Duquette acknowledged a preference not to give up Rodriguez in the trade for Miller that was in the works over the last couple weeks before picking up steam in recent days.

“It wasn’t our first choice to trade him. The kid has talent and he has youth, but again, our team is in the race,” Duquette said. “We want to continue what we started, and we needed to add to our club to be competitive with the other clubs — not just in our division, but the other clubs in the American League in the playoff situation.”

Of course, that argument suffers when witnessing what else transpired around the league.

Miller’s career follows a similar narrative to that of current Orioles reliever Brian Matusz in that he’s a former first-round draft pick to have failed as a starter in the major leagues before settling into a bullpen role. However, he is an imposing option against hitters on either side of the plate while Matusz continues to struggle against right-handed hitters this season, a major factor that prompted the Orioles to make the move.

Duquette said the Orioles would still consider making some offensive upgrades to their lineup but made a point to praise the current combination of pitching and defense to go with the club’s power. Players must now pass through waivers in order to be traded, but a number of key moves have been made in that capacity around baseball over the last few years.

“We’ve got some hitters at Triple A that are swinging the bats pretty well,” Duquette said. “We picked up (Jimmy) Paredes, Dariel Alvarez is doing a good job at Triple A, and there will be some other opportunities for some bats through the waiver process. There won’t be much going on now because everybody needs waivers to get traded, so that won’t happen right away. But some time in the next couple of weeks there will be some opportunities for us to address those needs.”

The Orioles certainly took a step forward in their division on Thursday, but Oakland and Detroit may have lapped them in the race for the Fall Classic. And even if Duquette made the right call in keeping his young pitching, there’s no changing that possibility.

Drew’s Morning Dish is brought to you by Koons Baltimore Ford. Glenn’s Drew’s Morning Dish may also be brought to you by Koons Baltimore Ford because every now and then my buddy Dennis Koulatsos is willing to hang out with the little guys.

(A reminder that I have bought as many cars from Koons Baltimore Ford in my life as Josh Hamilton has home runs this season.)

I had wanted to write this morning about the HIGH-LARIOUS letter Bud Selig sent the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals according to the Hollywood Reporter. It’s classic Bud. “You guys remember how I screwed this whole thing from the beginning? Well now you have to fix it on your own or you’re gonna get it!”

Sadly I’ll have to pass for now.

Remember Tuesday morning when I was so full of piss, vinegar and hope? I mean, I knew better than to REALLY think this was going to go the right way, but didn’t I have the right to hope?

And then Tuesday night while I was sitting at Oriole Park at Camden Yards…boom.

That’s the report from WEEI in Beantown, where Tuesday D&L Window Tinting Morning Reaction guest Rob Bradford played the role of “bringer of bad news.” Lester was scratched from his start Wednesday night and is slated to be dealt to a contender before the non-waiver deadline Thursday.

It won’t be Baltimore.

Look, I was significantly less hopeful of the possibility after chatting with Bradford on Tuesday morning’s show. The Sox reporter told us that trading within the division wasn’t really much of a stumbling block but said the team was looking to add legitimate hitting prospects. While there’s reason to believe the likes of Christian Walker and Dariel Alvarez have the potential to be legitimate major league players in the future-they are not thought of nearly on the level of the top prospects in other organizations.

The Orioles may have done everything they could to put together a viable package in exchange for the All-Star left hander and someone else may have simply had more to offer. If that had been the case, there wouldn’t have been much for guys like me to complain about. Lester was the PERFECT rental player to consider doing something bold to acquire as the team looks to take advantage of their best chance to win a World Series since 1997.

But since this is Dan Duquette and the Baltimore Orioles, I guess we should have known it was more likely going to be this (according to MLB.com)…

“If the O’s do add pitching depth, it figures to be bullpen help or a starter they can have ready in the Minor Leagues.”

Ugh.

It’s not as if either of these ideas is terrible in a vacuum. I haven’t particularly thought the Birds NEEDED to add bullpen depth in order to win, but it can never hurt. Grabbing a pitcher with options could potentially end up being helpful should one of the five or six guys they currently have end up failing down the stretch due to injury or performance.

But those types of move most certainly aren’t bold. They’re not the type of moves that would likely make up the difference between “playoff contender” and “World Series winner”.

They’re dumpster dives. They’re exactly what the Orioles do in the Dan Duquette era.

It’s not as if Duquette has NEVER made a “bold” move for the Birds…he’s made exactly one. Unfortunately that one was the one that had an up and down outing for the Aberdeen Ironbirds Tuesday night. (That’s Ubaldo Jimenez…I’d like to think you knew that.)

Bud Norris was a solid move that didn’t cost the Orioles a heavy price. Similarly, the team has traded for the likes of Scott Feldman, Michael Morse, David Lough and Francisco Rodriguez without particularly significant risk. Perhaps the “boldest” trade Duquette has made in his Charm City tenure was to swap Jeremy Guthrie for Jason Hammel. It wasn’t a “dumpster dive”, but it wasn’t exactly Ruben Sierra for Jose Canseco either.

Outside of Jimenez, Duquette’s free agent strategy has also failed to show anything “bold”. The Birds cashed in on a deal of minimal cost for Nelson Cruz, while finding pieces like Ryan Webb even more minimally. The Birds have always been more than willing to go the route of a Nate McLouth (to a reasonable level of success), Lew Ford, Johan Santana or Heath Bell in the Duquette era as well.

I believe Heath Bell’s permanent address is the dumpster in the alley outside your office at this point.

I hope I end up being wrong. I hope the team ends up winning the World Series with their current rotation that appears to have no true ace. Their best starter for the totality of the season (Chris Tillman) was roughed up by the Los Angeles Angels Tuesday night but the Birds managed to win anyway. I hope that after winning the World Series, the Birds end up competing to win three or four more titles in the next decade thanks to the likes of Dylan Bundy and Hunter Harvey, who Duquette has made untouchable heading towards Thursday’s deadline.

I really hope we don’t regret the fact that a team that appeared to be an ace short of being a true World Series contender didn’t take the chance to boldly acquire Jon Lester.

In the meantime-when you throw your leftover Chinese food away today-see if you can’t find a starter for the second game of the ALDS.

Drew’s Morning Dish is brought to you every day by Koons Baltimore Ford. Since they didn’t tell me otherwise Monday, I’ll assume Glenn’s Drew’s Morning Dish is also brought to you today by Koons Baltimore Ford-where I have bought something like five cars at this point.

I assume a good bit of Tuesday’s “D&L Window Tinting Morning Reaction” will surround the reaction Ray Rice received Monday night at the Ravens’ M&T Bank Stadium practice. I’ll make time for that conversation throughout the show-but more importantly I’ll note here I was pleased to not see the Ravens running back utilize his “flex” celebration at any point during the evening.

The “other” big story Tuesday will be the news that the Baltimore Orioles have contacted the Boston Red Sox about the potential to acquire starting pitcher Jon Lester. The news was reported by Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi and IMMEDIATELY becomes the most interesting trade target of the season (or at least since they were talking to the Chicago Cubs about Jeff Samardzija before the Oakland deal).

Unlike the other two starting pitchers the Birds have been positively connected to in the past week (AJ Burnett and Jorge De La Rosa), Lester represents something important-an actual upgrade. While the others would simply fall into the group of slightly above average starters the O’s already have five (six if you choose to count $50 million man Ubaldo Jimenez) of, the veteran left hander would immediately move to the top of the Baltimore rotation and would be slated to start Game 1 of a potential playoff series.

Lester has had an outstanding career including two World Series titles-but his 2014 season is shaping up to be his best. As he heads toward free agency, the 30 year old is 10-7 with a dazzling 2.52 ERA and sparkling 1.11 WHIP over 21 starts. It is logical that the Red Sox are listening to trade offers for him (and reportedly John Lackey as well) after dealing Jake Peavy to San Francisco over the weekend. After suffering a blowout loss Monday night, the Sox fell to 48-58 on the season and are 11 games back of the Orioles in last place in the AL East.

With free agency looming for the Red Sox, they find themselves in the enviable position of being able to potentially acquire young talent in exchange for Lester before Thursday’s non-waiver trade deadline and then ultimately end up re-signing him anyway during the offseason. The Orioles have done this in the past with SS Mike Bordick (netting them likely future team Hall of Famer Melvin Mora) and pitcher Sidney Ponson (netting them…nothing really).

It’s possible that as we near the deadline, the Sox could find themselves a little more willing to sell low knowing Lester can’t really help them the rest of the season. The more likely scenario is that the team will have no shortage of suitors and will be looking for even more to be willing to deal the three time All-Star within the division.

For the Orioles, a move to rent Lester could cost a package centered around top pitching prospects Dylan Bundy and/or Hunter Harvey. The most likely scenario would be that the team would not retain him moving forward and he would depart to a higher paying suitor (perhaps a return to Beantown) after the season.

So the question becomes simple-is it worth giving up a former first round pick (or more) to add one pitcher for the next two months.

My answer is that it might well be.

Like everyone else in this business, I can’t see the future. Perhaps the gal with three nipples from the movie “Mallrats” could tell us more about what Bundy/Harvey/Eduardo Rodriguez/Christian Walker/Dariel Alvarez/etc. are going to be in the future and what Lester will do for the next couple of months if he changes addresses. I can’t give you those answers. I can only tell you I’d be willing to take the risk.

(For the record, I wouldn’t even discuss Kevin Gausman in any trade. He’s far too important to the team’s chances of winning now. I would struggle to part with both Bundy and Harvey in a Lester trade and probably WOULDN’T be able to pull the trigger.)

Lester is the perfect prize to receive if you’re taking a chance at a World Series championship. He’s not in the middle of a disappointing season. There are no doubts about his ability to pitch against American League competition or in AL East ballparks. There are no doubts about how he’d handle high-pressure starts late in the season or potentially in the postseason.

He’s nothing more than an opportunity to put a historically good lefty at the top of your rotation as you try to separate yourself in a division that isn’t going quitting (the Blue Jays pulled to within 2.5 games by beating Boston Monday night). He further represents an opportunity to better set up against the likes of the Athletics, Tigers and Angels in a potential playoff series.

It comes with a hefty price and may or may not truly be realistic, but Lester is exactly what the O’s need at this point to truly bolster themselves for a playoff run.

I don’t know how we’d view a deal like this in five years, but for Tuesday-it’s a deal I’d be willing to make.

Left fielder Nelson Cruz had a huge night for the Baltimore Orioles Saturday against the Boston Red Sox, but one person in particular wasn’t all that interested in showering him with praise after the game.

“I’m not even going to comment on him”, Sox starter John Lackey told reporters after the game according to the Providence Journal. “I’ve got nothing to say about him. There’s things I would like to say, but I’m not going to.”

Lackey was almost certainly referring to the 50 game suspension Cruz received in 2013 related to PED’s and his association to Biogenesis.

Cruz was apparently not asked about Lackey’s comments after Saturday night’s game.

The former Texas Ranger had an incredible night, going 5-5 for the Birds in their 7-4 win in Game 2 of a doubleheader. Cruz had two doubles, getting thrown out at third base on the second trying to stretch the play into a triple that would have allowed him to hit for the cycle for the first time in his career.

Cruz’s home run Saturday was his 27th of the season, leaving him tied with Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox for the major league lead. He is expected to be announced as an All-Star starter at Designated Hitter for the American League when the teams are announced Sunday night.

Lackey was roughed up by the Birds, allowing five earned runs over just 5.1 innings pitched. Baltimore touched up the Sox starter for 10 hits and a walk in earning the doubleheader split.

NOTES: Teams have until 1pm Sunday to place a waiver claim on OF Nolan Reimold, who the Orioles designated for assignment earlier in the week after activating him from the 60 day disabled list…Reliever Preston Guilmet was returned to the AAA Norfolk Tides following Saturday night’s game. The Orioles had taken advantage of the MLB rule that allows teams to use a 26th man for the second game of a doubleheader in order to bring Guilmet up…Third baseman Manny Machado returned to the team Saturday night after serving a five game suspension. Machado went 2-5 with a double and a run scored in his return; the O’s were 4-1 in the five games without him…Manager Buck Showalter told reporters in Boston that pitcher Bud Norris’ simulated game “went well” Saturday (the starter threw between games of the doubleheader) and he will start Tuesday or Wednesday for the Birds against the Washington Nationals after being activated from the 15 day DL…Kevin Gausman will be called up Sunday to start in the series finale, reliever Ramon Ramirez is considered the most likely candidate to be sent down to make room for the former first round pick on the 25 man roster

The “Beasts of the East” are clearly the team to beat in the Eastern Conference this year and possibly the club with the best shot at Lord Stanley’s Cup given the easier route to the finals in the Eastern Conference. They don’t appear to have any weaknesses, and this is a club that lost top 4 defensemen Dennis Seidenberg earlier in the year to season ending injury. But they have lots of depth.

So with the Caps having to face a club that came in to Saturday’s matinee on a 13-0-1 streak one would think they would be ready to compete right out of the gate.

They weren’t.

They didn’t skate well.

Their passing was atrocious and they didn’t pay the price to win the one on one battles in the first 30 minutes.

If not for Braden Holtby’s goaltending, a 3-0 deficit could’ve been at least six or seven. #70 was really good in the crease, but his teammates didn’t help him out.

You can’t do that when your playoff chances are on the line and especially not against a club as strong as Boston.

Washington’s line of Jason Chimera, Eric Fehr, and Joel Ward had their usual strong game and they scored late in period two after Mike Green, who was another bright spot, made a great rush up the ice. The Capitals then threw the kitchen sink at Bruins goalie Chad Johnson (31 saves) in the third period, but he was too good and then a terrible charging call on Alex Ovechkin took away any momentum the Caps had built to that stage.

The Bruins would score on that tally, and they scored on one other power play to go 2 for 4 on the game while Washington was 0 for 3.

Boston’s fast start and the special teams were essentially the difference in the game.

Make no mistake about it, the Bruins deserved to win this contest. They played better over the course of the 60 minutes.

But anyone who thinks that the officiating in this contest was decent is smoking some serious stuff. I’ve tried to give the zebras more of a break this season and for the most part, they’ve been better overall. However, the job that Tim Peel and Frederick L’Ecuyer did today in a critical game for Washington was disgraceful.

Of Boston’s four power plays, three were not even penalties. John Erskine’s delay of game hit the glass before exiting the rink (shown clearly on replay), Jason Chimera’s slashing call was a joke and at worst, Johnny Boychuk should’ve gone off with him if that stuff is going to be called. Finally, as mentioned above, the Ovechkin charge was an absolute mirage of a penalty.

In addition, during the Caps power play, right before the Ovechkin “charge” call, a clear trip on the Gr8 was missed that would’ve put Washington on a 5 on 3 advantage.

Simply put, Peel and L’Ecuyer should not get paid for their work today.

Also, why are some of these calls not reviewable by replay? The NFL has it and so does NCAA college basketball. Pucks going over the glass is an easily reviewable event!

But enough on the zebras and league policy, because complaining about those things is pretty much like talking to a brick wall.

This was an important game for Washington and they didn’t come out with the intensity they needed against a super Boston team.

Once again, make no mistake about it, the Bruins deserved the win.

The Caps do go 2-1-2 during a stretch that looked nearly impossible a few weeks ago, so they can take pride in this run against some of the NHL elite.

But now they need to get down to business and find ways to win down the stretch. They have eight games left and likely need 12 or 13 points to get in the post season dance.

Tomorrow night in Nashville against the Predators they desperately need a win.

Coming out with intensity from the opening draw, and getting pucks and bodies to the front of the opponents’ net like Caps Comcast analyst Alan May repeatedly calls for, would be a really good way to start.

Dan Shulman, the voice of Sunday Nights, leads new team with John Kruk, Curt Schilling & Buster Olney

ESPN’s historic 25th season of Sunday Night Baseballpresented by Taco Bell – Major League Baseball’s exclusive, national game of the week – will showcase baseball’s most exciting teams, best rivalries and brightest stars throughout 2014. The season will begin with an exclusive presentation of MLB’s Opening Night on ESPN presented by Scotts – Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres – on March 30 at 8 p.m. ET. Baseball Tonight will precede the telecast with a special 90-minute pre-game show at 6:30 p.m. hosted by Karl Ravech.

The early season schedule will include three appearances each by the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox, National League Champion St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles. In addition, the game’s brightest stars, including Miguel Cabrera, Yasiel Puig, Derek Jeter, David Ortiz, Mike Trout, Andrew McCutchen and more will take center stage on Sunday Night Baseball.

Dan Shulman, in his fourth season as the voice of Sunday Night Baseball, will lead a new team, with new analyst Curt Schilling, returning analyst John Kruk and reporter Buster Olney. Sunday Night Baseball airs every week at 8 p.m. and is available on ESPN, ESPN Radio (with Jon Sciambi and Chris Singleton), ESPN Deportes, ESPN Deportes Radio and via WatchESPN.

The Sunday Night Baseball game selection for May 4 will be determined and announced in the next few weeks. Additionally, selections for June games and for July 6 and July 27 will be made three weeks in advance, while selections for August and September games will be made two weeks in advance.

More Sunday Night Baseball highlights:

The Boston Red Sox will host the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park for a special telecast the night before Patriot’s Day – a Massachusetts state holiday one year removed from the Boston Marathon tragedy in 2013;

The Pittsburgh Pirates return to Sunday Night Baseball for the first time since May 19, 2002 against the Houston Astros;

The schedule includes several rivalry games: San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers (April 6), Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees (April 13), St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds (May 25);

Sunday Night Baseball background:

Dan Shulman is entering his fourth season as the voice of Sunday Night Baseball. He debuted in 2011;

John Kruk is celebrating his 10-year anniversary at ESPN and his second season in the Sunday Night booth (he joined ESPN in 2004);

Curt Schilling, who has served as a Baseball Tonight analyst since 2010, makes his Sunday Night Baseball debut;

Buster Olney is entering his 12th season as an ESPN MLB Insider. He joined ESPN in 2003 and has served as Sunday Night reporter since 2011;

John Kruk and Curt Schilling re-unite as a “team” two decades after being teammates on the early-1990’s Philadelphia Phillies, who won the National League pennant in 1993.

Sunday Night Baseball history

ESPN’s inaugural Sunday Night Baseball telecastaired April 15, 1990. That night, the Montreal Expos defeated the New York Mets 3-1 at Olympic Stadium. Expos catcher Nelson Santovenia hit a home run off of Mets pitcher Ron Darling and Tim Raines drove in a run to lead the Expos to victory. John Miller and analyst Joe Morgan provided commentary.

Baseball Tonight’s 25th Season

In its 25th season, Baseball Tonight – ESPN’s baseball news and highlights studio show – will preview Sunday Night Baseball each week with one-hour telecasts at 7 p.m. Karl Ravech will serve as host with analysts from ESPN’s deep roster of MLB commentators, let by Hall of Famer Barry Larkin.

Sunday Night Baseballon ESPN Radio

ESPN Radio – in its 17th MLB season – will continue its coverage as the exclusive, national radio home of Sunday Night Baseball. Play-by-play commentator Jon Sciambi and analyst Chris Singleton will return for their fourth season together calling Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN Radio. ESPN Radio’s weekly coverage starts at 7 p.m. and is also available on ESPNRadio.com and via the ESPNRadio app.

ESPN Deportes’ 11thSeason ofSunday Night Baseball

ESPN Deportes will enter its 11th season as the Spanish-language home to Sunday Night Baseball.Commentators Ernesto Jerez and Luis Alfredo Alvarez will provide commentary throughout the season.

ESPN International coverage ofSunday Night Baseball

Sunday Night Baseball is available across Latin America, Caribbean and the Pacific Rim.

ESPN will begin its historic 25th Major League Baseball season with an exclusive presentation of MLB’sOpening Night on ESPN presented by Scotts – Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres – on Sunday Night Baseball, March 30, at 8 p.m. ET. The new Sunday Night Baseballteam of Dan Shulman, analysts John Kruk and Curt Schilling and reporter Buster Olney will make their regular-season debut to call the action. Opening Night will be available across ESPN platforms, including ESPN, ESPN Radio (with Jon Sciambi and Chris Singleton), ESPN Deportes, ESPN Deportes Radio and via WatchESPN.

Baseball Tonightpresented by Scotts will begin Opening Night festivities with a special 90-minute pre-game show at 6:30 p.m. Karl Ravech will host the telecast with Baseball Hall of Famer and analyst Barry Larkin, Kruk and Schilling.

Five Opening Day Games on ESPN, ESPN2

MLBOpening Day on ESPN presented by Scotts will include a five-game schedule, spanning more than 12 hours of live game action, on Monday, March 31. The schedule will begin at 1 p.m. when Starlin Castro and the Chicago Cubs visit Andrew McCutchen and the Pittsburgh Pirates on ESPN. The schedule continues as David Ortiz and the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox visit Chris Davis and the division-rival Baltimore Orioles at 3 p.m. on ESPN2. Additionally, Matt Holliday and the NL Champion St. Louis Cardinals will visit Joey Votto and the division-rival Cincinnati Reds at 4 p.m. on ESPN.

Opening Day will continue in prime time on ESPN2, beginning at 7 p.m. when Troy Tulowitzki and the Colorado Rockies visit Giancarlo Stanton and the Miami Marlins. At 10 p.m., Robinson Cano will make his Seattle Mariners debut when his new club visits Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

“I am more than happy the Red Sox were able to hold off the Tigers and get into the World Series since they are the team that would provide us with the biggest win possible out of any team that made the playoffs in our World Series Odds. Boston is a small 5/7 favorite against St. Louis paying out at 6/5 and 60% of the early money is on the Cards making our need for Boston to win even bigger.”

-Kevin Bradley, Sports Book Manager, Bovada.lv

Odds to win 2013 World Series

St. Louis Cardinals (Series Prices) 6/5 (+120)

Boston Red Sox (Series Prices) 5/7 (-140)

Odds to win the 2013 World Series MVP

David Ortiz (BOS) 15/2

Dustin Pedroia (BOS) 8/1

Carlos Beltran (STL) 9/1

Matt Holliday (STL) 10/1

Yadier Molina (STL) 12/1

Allen Craig (STL) 12/1

Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS) 12/1

Jon Lester (BOS) 12/1

Adam Wainwright (STL) 14/1

Michael Wacha (STL) 15/1

Matt Carpenter (STL) 15/1

Mike Napoli (BOS) 15/1

Clay Buchholz (BOS) 15/1

Koji Uehara (BOS) 15/1

Xander Bogaerts (BOS) 16/1

David Freese (STL) 18/1

Trevor Rosenthal (STL) 18/1

Matt Adams (STL) 20/1

Shane Victorino (BOS) 20/1

Stephen Drew (BOS) 25/1

Exact Series Result

St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 12/1

St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 6/1

St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 5/1

St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 5/1

Boston Red Sox 4-0 10/1

Boston Red Sox 4-1 6/1

Boston Red Sox 4-2 7/2

Boston Red Sox 4-3 4/1

Total Games in Series

4 11/2

5 13/5

6 7/4

7 7/4

Miscellaneous Props

MLB WORLD SERIES SPECIAL – Which team will hit more Home Runs in the Series?

St. Louis Cardinals +150 (3/2)

Boston Red Sox -200 (1/2)

MLB WORLD SERIES SPECIAL – Which team will record more errors in the Series?

St. Louis Cardinals -110

Boston Red Sox -110

MLB WORLD SERIES SPECIAL – How many times will Shane Victorino be Hit by Pitch in the Series?

Over 1 (EVEN, 1/1)

Under 1 (-140, 5/7)

MLB WORLD SERIES SPECIAL – Will any player or manager be ejected during a game in the Series?

Yes +150 (3/2)

No -200 (1/2)

MLB WORLD SERIES SPECIAL – Will any team pitch a shutout in the Series?

You may recognize Imagine Dragons as the band that performs EVERY SONG YOU’VE HEARD IN 2013.

I’ve lost so many hairs on my arms to Robert Randolph shows over the years. I could share any number of his songs, but I just learned that he once did “Up On Cripple Creek” with Joe Walsh so that will be the play.

My love for Leonardo DiCaprio and a set of trailers that were incredibly artistic lead me to choose to see Baz Luhrmann’s take on “The Great Gatsby” earlier this summer.

As I should have realized considering what he did to “Romeo & Juliet” that he was destined to make the special effects in the movie more interesting than the story itself. It wasn’t worth the 10 bucks. It’s probably not even worth a dollar in the Redbox machine. If for some reason you’re not familiar with the story, go get F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book from the library (there are still libraries, right?) instead.

The only saving grace of going to see the flick was the reminder of one of my favorite lines in all of literature. The line is better if you read it through a monocle while sipping a spot of tea.

The line was shouted by Nick Carraway to the title character, Jay Gatsby. It came after an ugly scene involving the other characters in the story, all of whom were terribly flawed in many ways.

I was reminded of the famous line upon learning what had happened between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees Sunday night (and to a much lesser degree knowing what has gone on between the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals recently). The entire group in Beantown was an absolutely rotten lot.

Actually, that’s not fair enough. The entire group in Beantown was a cowardly lot. A gutless lot.

You’re almost certainly familiar with what happened at Fenway Park Sunday night, as Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez was plunked by Ryan Dempster in his first at-bat. Dempster made it evident that he intended to hit A-Rod, throwing behind him on the first pitch and hitting him on a 3-0 count after throwing two more pitches inside.

Inexplicably, home plate umpire Brian O’Nora allowed Dempster to stay in the game (and ultimately ejected Yankees manager Joe Girardi for arguing that decision). Boston fans suddenly forgot that intentionally hitting another human being with a baseball is a disgusting act that should be considered criminal and gave Dempster a standing ovation. Rodriguez would later hit a home run off Dempster, forcing those of us with brains in this country to feel the need to take a shower after actually feeling good for the man facing a 211 game suspension for (allegedly) being a lying, fraudulent performance enhancing drug user.

They’re a gutless, cowardly, rotten lot.

For what it’s worth, Rodriguez isn’t absolved of being described with similar adjectives. If guilty of the crimes accused by Major League Baseball, the man whose numbers would otherwise be Hall of Fame worthy deserves to be described the exact same way Nick Carraway described Tom & Daisy Buchanan and company.

But it provides absolutely no excuse for the actions of Dempster, O’Nora, the Red Sox fans and anyone else involved with the activities at Fenway Park Sunday night. Rodriguez’s punishment will be determined in arbitration, a right the MLBPA (which represents Dempster among others) fought for in Collective Bargaining. Dempster himself is the worst perpetrator, and the term “chicken sh*t” is perhaps even more fitting than gutless, cowardly or rotten.